There are several free reverse phone lookup services on the internet that will very easily provide you with the name and address of the person who owns that particular phone number.

If the phone number you are trying to trace is a land line, the whole process is very straightforward. You enter the phone number as a search term in any of the major search engines and the search results will display all the sites where the number may be present.

Alternately you could conduct a reverse phone lookup on popular social networking sites including USFreeAds, MySpace, GumTree, BoardTracker and Blogger or even sites such as Whitepages.

However, in a world where cell phones reign and unlisted phone numbers are the order of the day, free reverse phone lookups have severe limitations in that these free sites do not have access to any cell phone numbers.

This is because cell phone numbers are independently controlled by the individual cellular carrier companies. These private carrier companies work hard to protect the privacy of their clients and do not give access to this information to all and sundry.

In that case does it even make sense to do a reverse cell phone lookup?

Yes it does. There are several paid websites that have access to residential as well as cellular carrier number databases. These cell phone number records are held by the cellular carrier companies who agree to give interested parties access to the details of the person; albeit at a price.

Third party websites that exist on the internet compile large numbers of different databases. For a single one-off fee, members can get access to several databases including residential phone lookups, cell phone lookups, criminal and civil records and background search information.

Obviously the main advantage of utilizing a paid membership service is the wealth of information you can get access to, which would otherwise have been absolutely impossible. And with the "No Hit - No Fee" guarantee that most sites offer, you've really got nothing to lose, either.

Most reverse cell-phone lookup sites give their members access to millions of public records and other related data.

These could include:

Name and current address of person who owns the landline phone number

Marriage and divorce records

Records of birth , death and adoption

Background checks and background information resources

Possible neighbors and relatives

Reverse e-mail and address searches

Information about registered sex offenders

Verification of Social Security numbers

Legal records, court records and inmate records

Phone company and carrier as well as issuing location

Additional phone numbers belonging to the same individual

Reverse cell-phone lookup sites do draw the line at giving out actual phone records. They will not give out information on call histories or phone bills that are associated with that particular number.

Where does all the information come from?

Reverse cell phone lookup sites compile their database with records collected from data brokers, cell phone carrier companies, public information and various proprietary sources. All records and information that these sites offer have been acquired through reputable, legal sources.

Here are just some of the ways that reverse cell phone lookup sites can help you out:

Ascertain the identity of the caller - Reverse cell phone searches help you put an end to annoying blank calls and threatening calls while helping you feel more confident about returning calls from numbers you do not recognize.

It may also shed some light on who your partner or loved ones are actually talking to on the phone.

As a parent, finding out the identity of the person behind those calls helps you make sure that your children are not endangering themselves by getting involved with the wrong people.

Again, only go with a paid service that offers a no-hit, no-fee guarantee, and you simply can't lose.